When pride masks itself as humility
Suppose we get an opportunity to serve Krishna, say, by speaking about him. We may think, “I am too fallen and impure. I'm not qualified [...]
Is progress just replacing the problems of poverty with the problems of prosperity?
Today’s world usually equates progress with economic development and prides itself on the number of people raised above the poverty line. Undoubtedly, efforts to help [...]
How inner bridges and inner barricades can empower us
Our mind is sometimes a source of creative ideas and sometimes a source of destructive desires. Pertinently, the Bhagavad-gita (06.05) urges us to elevate ourselves [...]
Are we rude to the crude?
Suppose we come from an urbane background and behave in ways that our culture considers well-mannered. Suppose we meet someone from a rustic background with [...]
How spiritual experiences affect our spiritual journey
When we embark on a spiritual journey, we may read in wisdom-texts about saints who have spiritual experiences, wherein they feel some sublime joy or [...]
Three ways to see our abilities spiritually
We all have certain abilities. Though we often think that those abilities belong to us, they sometimes inexplicably desert us, as when talented sports players [...]
How to persevere amid uncertainty?
Suppose we are driving. We gain confidence by seeing the path ahead clearly and knowing how it takes us to our destination. However, if the [...]
Sensuality + Technology – Spirituality = Recipe for self-destruction
Sensuality + Technology - Spirituality = Recipe for self-destruction Sensuality: When we are consumed by sensual pleasures or even sensual fantasies, we become oblivious to [...]
What do we need to be happier?
Many people think that to be happy, they need to become richer and thinner. By their wealth, they believe they can buy the things that [...]
How Krishna descends to civilize and spiritualize humanity
One of the greatest civilizing forces in human history has been the belief in a God who keeps track of our actions and who [...]
Why fear of God is healthy — and when it becomes unhealthy
To stay civilized, every society needs to instill in its members a healthy fear of the law, which essentially means fear of the consequences of [...]
Beyond thoughtless action and spineless inaction
At the start of the Bhagavad-gita, when Arjuna is confronted with the prospect of fighting a brutal war against his venerable elders, he pauses. Throughout [...]
Why we remain strangers to ourselves …
We are often fascinated by characters depicted in novels and movies. Fans fill blogs analyzing every single dialogue spoken by fictional characters in, say, Star [...]
How to live amid danger
We often worry when visiting dangerous areas infested with terrorists or infected by pandemics. If fear overwhelms us, we can remember that we can [...]
Who is defining our identity: our mind or our Lord?
Our mind often acts as our enemy (Bhagavad-gita 06.06). One way it acts inimically is by discouraging us whenever we attempt anything worthwhile: “You are [...]
How can we know reality?
Suppose someone is walking on a road with their eyes blindfolded and ears plugged. If they struggled only to remove the ear plugs that blocked [...]
How can we become immune to temptation?
Suppose someone is living in a pandemic area. If they have developed immunity to that disease, they may think they are safe. However, if they [...]
How to assess the value of our work
We often value our work based on the paycheck it provides — the bigger the paycheck, the better the work. Such assessment is understandable because [...]
How humility protects us from the ego’s trident?
Our ego often acts like a trident that pierces us with three prongs: grandiosity, blame and shame. Grandiosity: When we set out to achieve something, [...]
Can devotion and ambition go together?
Some people feel, “Devotion involves pursuing God beyond this world, whereas ambition involves pursuing worldly gain. The two are therefore incompatible.” Not necessarily. It’s true [...]
Why we are more than programmed machines
Today’s prevailing worldview, materialism, holds that we are biological robots. What we consider as our voluntary choices, it treats as mechanical results of our programming. [...]